Traction device

ABSTRACT

A traction device for relieving back pain has a flexible strip (1) which is held around a person&#39;s waist by a belt (2). Two adjustable straps (3) are attached at one end to the belt (2) and are provided with stirrup loops (12) at their opposite ends. The stirrup loops (12) fit around the person&#39;s feet and the person can self-apply a traction force to his spinal column by extending his knees.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a traction device for achieving the relief ofback pain by providing distraction of the segments of the lumbarvertebrae.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Apparatus for the relief of back pain is known, however, such apparatusis commonly relatively large and complicated and may require expertassistance for proper use thereof.

Accordingly it is usual for a patient to attend a specialist clinic orthe like for treatment.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple tractiondevice with which it is possible for a person to self administertreatment with the minimum of assistance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention therefore there is provided atraction device for achieving the relief of back pain comprising a bodypart adapted to be secured around a person's waist, two elongatetraction parts connected thereto having support parts at ends remotefrom said body part adapted to engage the person's feet and adjustmentmeans for adjusting the length of said traction parts, whereby theperson can apply a traction force to his spinal column by extending hisknees.

With this arrangement it is possible for back pain to be abolished orrelieved by a person in a particularly simple and convenient mannerwithout the necessity for specialised treatment or appreciable expertassistance. Large complicated apparatus is not required and indeed thedevice may be of a size and shape suited to ready carrying by hand oreven suited to stowing in a handbag.

Preferably the body part is adapted to be attached to a belt which canbe secured around the person's waist. Said body part may be adapted toengage the belt by way of a plurality of retainers and may be arrangedto engage the belt in such a manner that a part of the belt is exposedor free of the body part i.e. such that the body part is arranged toextend only partially around the person's body. Suitably the body partmay comprise a flexible strip formed e.g. from a padded or resilientmaterial or the like.

Said traction parts may be connected to the body part by way of couplingmeans and said coupling means may be arranged to engage theabovementioned exposed belt part. Said coupling means may comprise aloop or other device which permits sideways movement relative to thebody part e.g. sliding movement along the said exposed belt part forpositional adjustment purposes.

Each traction part may be connected to a separate said coupling means orthe two traction parts may be interconnected with the same couplingmeans.

Said support parts may comprise stirrup loops and may be formedintegrally with the traction parts. These loops may incorporate paddingor the like for comfort.

Said traction parts may be formed as single lengths or alternatively maybe formed as two lengths which are movably interconnected for lengthadjustment purposes. Thus, for example, the traction parts may each beformed from two straps e.g. of webbing material joined by a buckle orother similar adjustment device. It may even be possible to form the twotraction parts wholly or partially integrally e.g. by using a singlestrap (or a branded strap) or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described further by way of example only andwith reference to the accompanying drawing the single FIGURE of whichshows a perspective view of one form of traction device according to theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The traction device shown in the drawing comprises a body harnessincluding a body part 1, a belt 2 which is arranged to secure the bodyharness part around a person's waist and two traction parts 3 which areattached to and are suspended from the belt 2.

The body part 1 comprises an elongate foamed plastics padding structurewhich is completely enclosed by a cover of any suitable material. Forexample the structure may be enclosed within a stitched-up fabric cover.Four retaining strips or loops 4 are attached to one side of the harnesscover in equispaced positions along the length thereof. The strips 4 aresecured to the harness cover by stitching at opposite ends. The outerretaining strips 4 i.e. those closest to the ends of the body part 1 areattached to the harness cover more securely than the other strips 4 byfor example extra stitching or other suitable means. This is required inorder to provide adequate strength when the device is in use asdescribed below.

The belt 2 comprises an elongate strip of webbing material having abuckle 5 attached to one end for selective engagement along the lengthof the belt. The other end 6 of the belt 2 is shaped such that it iseasily locatable in the buckle 5.

The belt 2 is of greater length than the body part 1 for a reason whichwill become apparent later and is suitably dimensioned to fit throughthe retaining strips 4.

Each traction part 3 comprises two webbing strips 7, 8 connected end toend by a buckle 9 and a retaining strap 10. The free end portions ofrespective first webbing strips 7 of the two traction parts 3 arestitched together and are integrated with a coupling loop 11. Thecoupling loop comprises a loop formed by stitching the webbing materialat the end region of one of the traction part strips 7 and is enclosedwithin a tube of a suitable soft, protective fabrics material.

The free end portion of a respective secured said webbing strip 8 ofeach traction part 3 is integrated with a foot stirrup 12 whichcomprises a loop formed by stitching the webbing material of the strip8. The loop is twisted in the manner of a Mobius strip and is enclosedwithin a tube of soft, protective fabrics material with a strip of foamplastics padding material incorporated within the tube for increasedcomfort.

The buckle 9 of each traction part is of the `ladder lock` type which issecurely fixed to the first webbing strip 7 (by stitching of the end ofsuch strip), the adjacent end portion of the second strip 8 being loopedthrough the buckle 9. The free end of the strip 8 is held captive by theretainer strap 10.

In use the belt 2 is fed through the retainers 4 of the body part 1 andthrough the coupling loop 11. The buckle 5 on the body belt 2 is locatedbetween two of the retainers 4 on the body part 1 and is attached to thefree end 6 of the belt 2 in such a position that the aperture defined bythe belt 2 and body part 1 is large enough to pass over the head,shoulders and trunk of a person to be treated.

The second webbing strips 8 of the traction parts 3 are engaged with therespective buckles 9.

The device so assembled is placed over the person's head and is pulleddown over his head, shoulders and trunk to the midriff region. The bodyharness is tightened around his waist, by appropriate adjustment of thebelt 2 with the buckle 5, in the region about the person's iliac crests.The person then lies in a prone position on a suitable flat surface andwith the assistance of a second person the foot stirrups 12 are placedaround his feet with his knees in the semi-flexed position. The secondperson then adjusts the buckles 9 on the traction parts 3 to alter thelengths of the traction parts. This is achieved by pulling the secondwebbing strips 8 either further through the buckles 9 or by releasingthe strips 8. This adjustment has the effect of altering the amount oftraction that will be applied to the lower back, when the person extendshis knees fully (i.e. when he straightens out his legs).

The person undergoing treatment can assist the second person by advisinghim as to when the pain is relieved. The traction applied is in the formof a cephalic-caudal force which acts to provide a distraction of thesegments of the lumbar vertebrae. The person is thus able to control thetraction applied by extension of his knees as a result of the bilateraland simultaneous contractions of his quadriceps muscles. Furthermore theperson is able to control the time for which the force is appliedhimself in accordance with the pain felt, and is guided by theproprioceptive receptors in the segments thus distracted. The devicetherefore gives the possibility of careful control of force applicationon the basis of `feed back control`.

Removal of the device is simply a matter of the person flexing hisknees, removing his feet from the foot stirrups 12 and then removing thebody belt 2 and body part 1.

With this embodiment it is possible for back pain to be abolished orrelieved in a simple and convenient manner without the necessity forspecialised treatment, although of course it is desirable for an expertopinion to be obtained first as to the nature of the musculoskeletalproblem.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended tobe restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are describedby way of example only. Also, although reference is made to a male userof the device it is of course to be appreciated that it is also suitablefor female users.

We claim:
 1. A traction device for achieving the relief of back paincomprising:(a) a body harness including a belt for encircling and forbeing secured around a person's waist, the belt carrying a paddedflexible strip which is held around the person's waist by means of saidbelt being attached to the flexible strip, said flexible strip being ofgreater width than the belt and extending only partially around theperson's body to provide a belt part which is free of the flexible stripat one side of the body harness, (b) two elongate traction parts eachconnected at one of their ends by coupling means to a single point ofsaid belt part which is free of the flexible strip, at one side of thesaid body harness and each of their other ends having a single stirrupsupport loop adapted to engage the person's feet, said coupling meansbeing sideways adjustable relative to said belt part, said tractionparts each comprising a buckle between said one end and said other end,the length of each traction part being adjustable by means of thebuckle, the length of each traction part being adjusted to a fixedlength so that when the person's knees are extended from a flexedposition to straighten the person's legs, traction is applied by saidextension in the form of a cephalic-caudal force which acts to provide adistraction of the segments of the lumbar vertebrae for relieving backpain.
 2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the belt is attached tothe flexible strip by means of retaining strips or loops.
 3. A deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein the coupling means comprises a loop whichengages said belt.
 4. A device according to claim 1 wherein the twoparts are connected to the belt part with a common said coupling means.